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The Tribune
Volume:115 No.141, JUNE 15TH, 2018
Established 1903
Weekend
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1
Friday, June 15, 2018 culture books pageants film fashion gardening food puzzles
Weekend
POUR SOME ACRYLIC Page 14 &15
A voice for the silenced
SPORTS: THE WORLD CUP BEGINS - FULL COVERAGE INSIDE
Artist honours US school shooting victims pages 8&9
‘Stop tax rises’ WEB SHOP STAFF ‘TOLD TO MARCH OR LOSE PAY’
Hundreds march to oppose VAT hike and gambling levy
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
By FARRAH JOHNSON HUNDREDS of people marched from the Southern Recreation Grounds to Rawson Square yesterday morning to protest the proposed 60 percent increase in value added tax and a new sliding scale tax on web shops. At one point, rowdy protestors stormed barricades erected at Rawson Square and temporarily blocked traffic on Bay Street before being dispersed by police. The group included web shop workers, other disgruntled Bahamians, and some Progressive Liberal Party members and supporters. The tense crowd was just feet away from the House of Assembly, which was in session, and some members of government were greeted with angry chants and insults. The protest was labelled “Keep Ya Corned Beef, We Marching,” and was a venue for people to voice
ISLAND Luck employees were seemingly threatened with the loss of a day’s pay if they did not attend yesterday’s tax protest. Sources close to the web shop suggested the warning was untrue, but an internal memo written by Island Luck’s operations manager said it was “mandatory for all staff to be in attendance”. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS A PROTESTOR is arrested for throwing water on Frankie Campbell MP when he approached the crowd. See page three for full story. their frustration with the One protestor, B government’s 2018-2019 “Wheels’ Evans, said he budget. was participating in the Protesters chanted and march to advocate for shouted over music from a “rights and justice”. mini brass band and waved He stated he has no faith signs, which were labelled: in the current administra“When was the last time tion nor the opposition your water bill was less party because they have than $50?” “We thought it both proven to be dishonest was the people’s time,” and and “disgraceful”. “planes and washers duty SEE PAGE TWO free really?”
D’AGUILAR: WE WILL BE FLEXIBLE By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A PROTESTOR on Bay Street yesterday. Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
TOURISM and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said the government will be flexible with web shop taxes, adjusting its new sliding scale scheme if it proves too onerous. SEE PAGE TWO
NHI WILL COST YOU $15-$80 A MONTH By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
THE government is “revamping” National Health Insurance to focus more on catastrophic care with the introduction of the BahamaCare Plan and expects a contributory plan of $15 to $80 per month to fund it. According to Health Minister Dr Duane Sands, the National Health Insurance Authority will
establish the BahamaCare Fund – a pooling of funds to manage high cost care across the entire Bahamian population. While he said NHI is very much at a “crossroads,” there are 33,661 beneficiaries enrolled and benefitting from NHI’s primary care services. Officials also plan to spend $5.6m on upgrades to the Accident and Emergency Department at Princess Margaret Hospital
along with other support services. “The NHIA will establish a high cost care fund – the BahamaCare Fund – to manage high-cost care across the entire Bahamian population,” Dr Sands said during his budget communication yesterday in Parliament. “However, the National Health Insurance Authority cannot do this alone.” SEE PAGE SIX
YOU HAVE TO LAUGH OR ELSE YOU’LL CRY
SEE PAGE EIGHT
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PAGE 2, Friday, June 15, 2018
MAN ARRESTED AS WATER THROWN OVER CAMPBELL By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
POLICE yesterday arrested a man after he showered Transport Minister Frankie Campbell with water during a protest against the government’s proposed value added tax hike. Assistant Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander, the officer in charge of crime investigations, confirmed that an adult male was taken into custody in the Bay Street area shortly after 1pm in connection with an assault. Mr Campbell was on the receiving end of the anger of many of the protestors yesterday. One person held a sign calling for the transport minister to resign and as he tried to speak with the demonstrators, some hurled slurs at him. At one point Mr Campbell was talking to a group of protesters behind a barricade when he was doused with water. While Mr Campbell seemed unmoved by the incident, several police officers quickly apprehended a man. The minister said it was Bahamians’ democratic right to protest and express their disagreement with the government. At another point, Mr Campbell was also seen being cautioned by officers just before he made his way over to the crowd who protested in Rawson Square yesterday. “I have friends over there,” Mr Campbell was heard telling officers.
THE TRIBUNE
D’AGUILAR: WE WILL BE FLEXIBLE from page one
His statement came during his speech as part of the budget debate in the House of Assembly last night. He said the operations will experience a loss of profit initially. “As the gaming house operators adjust their business model to accommodate this tax, they will quickly bounce back; bright guys,” he said. “There is one cause for alarm and that is the claim by many of the gaming houses that a number of their customers may turn to the underground gaming market as a result of these new restrictions. I want to categorically say this government is populated with reasonable people. If this tax turns out to be too onerous and that in turn causes an undesirable outcome, we will adjust. Every year we are in office, we will look closely at this industry and ensure the Bahamian people are getting their fair share.” Mr D’Aguilar also compared the amount of money the seven web shop bosses have made over the years to what has been paid to their employees, highlighting the disparity as he called on the operators to remember how good the Bahamas has been to them before they decide to downsize their operations in response to increased taxation. “The Bahamas and the Bahamian people have been very good to the operators of the gaming houses,” he said. “I estimate that the seven owners of the gaming houses collectively earned a whopping $150m over the last three years in salaries and profits…
PROTESTORS on Bay Street yesterday. Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff Over that same three years, 2,800 persons that worked for these same seven gaming houses collectively have been paid just $96m which if you do the math works out to be exactly $210 per week plus $9 per week in benefits. They all get minimum wage. So please, as you contemplate downsizing, remember that you’ve enjoyed many years of feast and if you must suffer from one year of famine in order for us to get to that sweet spot of the perfect level of taxation, we will remember any good deeds that you do.” Mr D’Aguilar sought to preempt criticism of the government in case some web shops go out of business in the next few years, saying trends suggest three web shops are already in a precarious state.
Those businesses, he said, “are either too small or have been increasingly losing market share over the past three years, so that unless something dramatic happens I expect them to begin to close locations, so when it happens I do not want the people to cry shame on the government.” He said digital technology means many physical locations of web shops will be reduced. “I expect that in a few years the number of locations will be significantly less than where they are now as the number houses move more of their businesses online,” he said. “Players will be able to sit at home, log on, transfer cash from their bank account into their gaming account, pay and transfer money back. Remember, just four or five years ago there were 635 locations and now we have 363. That downward trend is expected to continue.” For the next fiscal year, the government plans to introduce a sliding scale showing how web shops will be taxed. Under the scale, web shops will pay a 20 percent tax for up to $20m in revenue, 30 percent for revenue between $40m and $60m, 35 percent for revenue between $60m and $80m, 40 percent for revenue between $80m and $100m and a rate of 50 percent for revenue over $100m. Mr D’Aguilar said only five percent of gaming house sales will fall into the latter category while half will fall into the first category. He said with the new scale, the government is increasing its revenue intake from 11 percent to 28 percent of net gaming revenue. Bahamians, he said, spent $500m in the gaming industry in 2017.
HUNDREDS MARCH TO OPPOSE VAT HIKE AND GAMBLING LEVY from page one
“Bahamian people need somebody to look out for them. I don’t think either of these parties are interested in the Bahamian people, they’re just using them for when they want to get in (government),” he said. “All they care about is votes. They look like they have some kind of other agenda, something secret we don’t know about, because don’t matter which one of them get in, it’s the same thing,” he said. Protester Charles Higgs said the proposed 12 percent VAT rate is “too much and too tough” for Bahamians, especially due to the large number of single parent homes in the country. “The government isn’t even giving them quality food like fruits and stuff (on the zero-rated breadbasket list). They giving them this corned beef, and if you really did the history to know what corned beef is made up of, you wouldn’t even want it in this country,” he said. Mr Higgs added the tax increase would force many families to make big sacrifices like removing their children from private schools. “Perry (Christie) wouldn’t have done this on the people, I know he wouldn’t have done this,” Mr Higgs said. “Because when he was coming to do it...we didn’t even have to come this far…but Minnis, as he say he’s a doctor, he goes straight to the problem...but I think (with him) the problem is just kill you and you finish with it,” he said. Another protester, Randy “Egypt” Rolle, thinks the tax situation has created “an atmosphere of economic apartheid,” similar to the oppressive racist regime that was employed in South Africa. Kemalyn Resias, a manager for one of the Island Luck gaming houses, said she is married with eight children, and getting by is not easy. “It’s not fair, it’s not right, and the government does not care about the people. It’s like they’re trying to put us back into slavery where we have to depend on the white man for everything,” she said. Expressing her support for Island Luck CEO Sebas Bastian, she insisted Mr Bastian does a lot for the country, including providing jobs so people can “actually feed their children”. “I am proud to be working for the boss I am working for because he is a Bahamian and he loves his
staff. And now to push him to the backburner (so) that he has to lay off hundreds of his staff is not fair,” she continued. Questioning why the gaming houses were being targeted, one of the march’s organisers Lawrence Harrison, stated: “They want to impose 50 percent (sliding tax) on the gaming houses, (but) what happen to the Royal banks? What happen to the Scotia banks? The First Caribbean banks? “They are taking trillions of dollars over the years out of this country, and they ain’t doing nothing to it. A change has to come,” he said. Former senator and current talk show host Rodney Moncur was also present at the march, stating he was supporting the demonstration because VAT is an “oppressive tax for the poor and Negro entrepreneurs.” “This is the first time in the history of the Bahamas that a budget debate has created this kind of national controversy, and this is the first time in the history where members of the governing party have made it quite clear that they are not going to support the budget,” he said. “So there’s a political crisis in leadership and the polls have told us that overwhelmingly, the nation has no confidence in the FNM ...I don’t care if the PLP finds itself on the right side of history, the people’s side is the right side of history and the time has come for the PLP to be on the people’s side so there’s no sin in that,” he continued. Operation Sovereign Bahamas Director Adrian Francis, whose group coorganised the protest, said it is obvious Bahamians will not wait until an election cycle to voice displeasure in the government and are upset at having increased taxes forced on them. “The spirit that is on this country now is the same spirit just before the last election – just ring the bell – and to have that spirit over this nation in just one year speaks volumes,” he said. When asked how he felt about assertions that the march was PLP sponsored, Mr Francis told The Tribune: “All through ‘We March’ was special interest groups, now that the Bahamian people start to march you know what they say? ‘Oh this PLP.’ That’s garbage, literal garbage. “This is not a PLP march, this is not an FNM march, this is the people’s march. It’s the people’s time,” he explained. The new VAT rate and increased taxes on web shops are set to go into effect on July 1.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, June 15, 2018, PAGE 3
‘VAT hike will bring a day of reckoning’ By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net THE government’s proposed hike of value added tax will induce a “day of reckoning” sooner than expected, according to Progressive Liberal Party Deputy Leader Chester Cooper. Speaking to reporters as crowds protested against the government’s proposed VAT increase and a new sliding scale tax on web shops, the Exuma and Ragged Island MP said the “tone deaf” actions of the Minnis administration would be, in time, countered through the “beauty of democracy”. Mr Cooper was one of dozens of politicians and civic leaders, current and former, to take to Rawson Square to openly applaud protesters. He admonished the Minnis administration for its refusal to bend to will of the people over its proposed VAT increase. “When the government doesn’t listen to the people who elect them, the people react in this way,” Mr Cooper said as he signalled to the crowd. “So if they don’t hear, they are going to feel.” Angry Bahamian protestors, among them PLP supporters, various union officials and web shop employees, yesterday marched from the Southern Recreation Grounds to Rawson Square where they staged a massive protest against the government. On the sidelines, Mr Cooper told reporters: “The day of reckoning is going to come. And that is the beauty of democracy. That is the beauty of elections. And certainly, the people will have their say.” He continued: “The government might have their way, and they are tone deaf, they are not listening to the
people, but the people will have their say. “They are not being passive about this as you can see, and I am very delighted that they are showing their strength.” Mr Cooper claimed the government refused to meet with economic stakeholders prior to making its decision to increase VAT, a tax the Free National Movement was against while it was in opposition. Mr Cooper, who served as the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce when the former Christie administration introduced VAT, said the difference between the two regimes remains the willingness to communicate. He added that despite the best efforts of many across the country, the government has decided to “do what it wants” and press forward with a “lazy budget.” “I don’t think this government worked hard enough. I don’t think they consulted widely enough,” Mr Cooper said. “They have been tone-deaf. All of the professionals have told them that this is not the right thing to do. They didn’t consult with the experts on this issue and they didn’t consult with the Chamber of Commerce. “(There was) absolutely no consultation. The timeline is much too short for business to adjust, and therefore, this is the result,” he added. “The people are not pleased.” At various points during yesterday’s protest, police clashed with members of the crowd. During one of those exchanges, chaos erupted as protestors pushed through barricades which restricted them to the northern side of Rawson Square. That push moved the crowd on to Bay Street and nearly into the southern corridor of Rawson Square. However, police were able to hold the group off and
maintain a level of order. It was at this point, roughly 50 of the protestors sat down in Bay Street and refused to move. Police on the scene allowed the action, and some could be heard telling protestors to “take it easy”. The Tribune also spoke with Bahamas Public Service Union President Kimsley Ferguson, who also took the government to task over its refusal to “communicate”. According to Mr Ferguson, his organisation has petitioned the government and its members on several occasions to “sit and speak.” However, Mr Ferguson said the mandate seems to be, “Let them talk, we will do our thing.” He said: “Let’s be clear, the survival of Bahamians is at stake here. I think it is time for the unions to come together and shut this country down. “For the government to go forward with this plan, it is a slap in the face of all the struggling Bahamians that depended on them to come in and fix the issues. This is a slap in the face to the people that elected them, these people turned to the FNM because they were at the end and need something else. All they have received is more taxes and less support.” Mr Ferguson added: “One must question the government’s intentions here. They are proposing to take VAT off of corned beef and other items that we embrace when we are in hard times, but the truth is that isn’t enough. That isn’t a drop in the bucket when you consider the hardship people are now going through. I’m listening to the cry of my members, they are struggling to pay mortgages, send their kids to school and put food on the table. “To hit them with this increase, that is a shot to the heart.”
MINNIS: WE’RE CREATING A BETTER TOMORROW By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net WHILE hundreds of protesters took over Bay Street yesterday in protest of a value added tax increase and a new sliding tax for web shops, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told The Tribune his government’s fiscal agenda is about creating “a better tomorrow” for the country. He spoke to this newspaper on the sidelines of a ceremony for the 2018 graduating class of St Augustine’s College, his alma mater. Dr Minnis addressed the graduates during the school’s commencement exercise. When asked by The Tribune whether the protest would change his mind about the 60 percent hike of value added tax and the increase in web shop taxes, Dr Minnis would not say. “My budget is not necessarily about VAT,” he said in response. “My budget is more about a better tomorrow for the young people of this country, the future. And that’s what we’re talking about. “We’re a free, liberated society, freedom of speech. Individuals have their constitutional right to march.” During his remarks at the graduation ceremony, Dr Minnis promised a personal $10,000 donation to the school to help students who are in need of financial assistance. He added some of his Cabinet ministers would match this donation, thus offering an additional $10,000 to the school. Dr Minnis graduated from St Augustine’s College in 1971 — which, as he noted, was two years before the Bahamas became an independent nation.
During his address, the prime minister discussed his “modest background”, his own financial difficulties as a student, and offered words of encouragement to the graduates. “I grew up in modest circumstances, as a child in Bain Town,” Dr Minnis said. “My mother taught me that just because you come from modest background, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have big dreams or explore new horizons. “I remember when she heard I was accepted at SAC, she was overjoyed… But we didn’t have money to pay the school fees. So I had to go to work. I learnt early in life that when you dream big, you must also work hard. “And to pay for my school fees, I sold The (Nassau) Guardian in the morning, The Tribune in the evening. I sold the Bahamian Times, which was the newspaper of the PLP, which promoted…the struggle for Majority Rule. “No, I am not a PLP,” he added, to laughter from the audience. Dr Minnis added he also worked other odd jobs to support himself through school. These included working twice a week at a tailor shop, shining shoes on weekends, and pumping
gas. However, his earnings were not always enough to cover costs. “Even today, I recall times I would be sent home because we couldn’t pay the school fees. However, my circumstances motivated me to work even harder to graduate from SAC. “I was determined that I would not allow my circumstances to dictate my destiny.” Later in his speech, Dr Minnis announced his donation. “It is my honour to announce this morning a personal $10,000 donation to help some of those students who sometimes struggle to pay their school fees. “This donation is in gratitude to my alma mater, the great (SAC). I wish to dedicate my contribution to those students who are financially challenged, who need a little help so that they can pursue their dreams in life. “When I mentioned that I was going to offer this donation, some of my other Cabinet colleagues decided to match that donation. So I would like…to announce an additional $10,000 donation offered by my colleagues.” These promises were met with enthusiastic applause from the audience.
DEPUTY leader of the PLP Chester Cooper.
Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
PAGE 4, Friday, June 15, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
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Diplomacy and persuasion the best option PEOPLE absorbed in their personal pursuits and blissfully unaware of the ebb and flow of international affairs might be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was about this week in Singapore. Was the summit between the United States President and the leader of a relatively small country in Asia really the most significant such meeting in modern times, as some in the media had been claiming? The hyperbole of the international press showed no bounds in seeking to report the news in the most dramatic terms. But, since that country was North Korea, which has constituted a nuclear threat not just to the region but to the US mainland itself, most agreed that the rhetoric was justified. The outcome of the Trump and Kim Jong-un meeting will be analysed endlessly during the coming months. It may have been inconclusive but some are calling it a diplomatic victory for the US President. He himself has declared it a success because, he claims, North Korea no longer poses a nuclear threat. Others say that it is no more than an illusion of diplomatic progress and that, even though Kim Jong-un has agreed to the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the short joint document was only a statement of good intentions and re-hashed objectives and lacked specific detail about verification and implementation or any timescale. Nonetheless, it is clear that this summit was a genuine breakthrough after years of largely fruitless diplomacy and, as such, was both historic and unprecedented. To the concern of some, however, Mr Trump was relatively restrained about human rights and North Korea’s brutal regime. He also made a significant concession about ending US and South Korean joint military exercises – too readily, in the view of many, not least South Korea itself and even the Japanese. It is the role of leaders to agree strategic objectives and to provide the political momentum for the experts to flesh out the details. In this case, the US will need to ensure that the terms of denuclearisation are defined and that the process will be both verifiable and irreversible, including evidence of the dismantlement of nuclear weaponry and of launching and testing sites, all of which will require oversight by weapons inspectors. For his part, the North Korean dictator has gone from being an international pariah exchanging insults with US leaders to a legitimate statesman on the world stage meeting an American President face to face – a propaganda victory for him and something that neither his father nor grandfather was able
to achieve. The reasons for his change of heart and willingness to negotiate remain unclear though it seems that pressure from China may have played a part and that he has become concerned about his personal security. While the media spotlight has been on the Singapore talks, there has been relatively little reporting of last week’s meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation hosted by China and attended by Russia, Iran and Afghanistan as well as countries like Belarus and Kazakhstan together with India and Pakistan as new members. This regional security bloc designed to strengthen interaction on a range of political, economic and security issues produced a lengthy communique that included support of global economic governance and a call for implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement from which the US has withdrawn. It was a reminder of the existence and importance of other spheres of geopolitical influence in the world while the US is moving towards unilateralism. The contrast between this successful summit in China and the G7 meeting in Quebec last week, which ended in disarray, was stark – with the US President leaving early, contesting the communique and then mounting an ad hominem attack on the Canadian Prime Minister. To many, Mr Trump’s erratic behaviour towards the US’s friends and allies in the G7 was disturbing - in particular, the lack of judgment at a summit in picking a fight about tariff levels which should be resolved by negotiations between officials – and it raises questions about his fitness to conduct US foreign policy. It is the case generally that, while the importance of his emphasis on personal chemistry and good relationships with other world leaders should not be underestimated, what really matters is the follow-up negotiations. Diplomacy is a complex, hard-nosed business. Its essence is to promote mutual interests and to reconcile conflicting ones while recognising that an adversary is invariably intent on protecting what he perceives as his own interests. Only time will tell whether the Singapore summit will lead to effective long-term denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. But there are myriad other global issues – including, of course, the comparable nuclear threat from Iran – needing the attention of Mr Trump who possesses considerable power to influence events. In all his dealings on the international stage, surely the priority both for the US itself as well as for its allies should be Western solidarity in an increasingly unstable and troubled world.
Crime under control? EDITOR, The Tribune. WHILE the Police were having a special police operation carnage on Jerome Avenue - who said crime is under control? We had a comment recorded and aired on the News after the Fox Hill incident a comment from a resident ‘oh that building is known for drugs’ - if the residents know how is it the police seem not to? The Jerome Avenue incident
- senior DEU - the victims are known to the police. It has to be worrying to us all as now crime is creeping to areas where in the past it was unknown - where is safe? Two people waiting to have their hair cut, shot not once but multiple times and left dead in broad daylight. It has been said before but used only a very few times - the Police with the RBDF have to block off an area securely and go house-to-house searching
Feeling unsafe EDITOR, The Tribune. Re: ‘No reason to feel unsafe’. The Tribune, June 12, 2018 LESS than two years ago, it was astutely noted that our crime needed a ‘multifaceted plan’. However, it’s
clear from the improvement in crime statistics that perhaps such a plan is finally in effect, so that there is now ‘no reason to feel unsafe’ unless, of course, you step out of your house. KEN W KNOWLES, MD Nassau, June 13, 2018.
for firearms - drugs, etc… it was recommended years ago to have dogs trained to sniff out guns - did the RBPF acquire any? The Jamaica Police plan seems to be working - Districts are declared “emergency zones” and the police have special powers to search. Minister, forget all your Academy’s we need solutions on the ground. As true as the sun will rise every morning in the east if we continue the talk and lack of action this is going to get worse. We have to aggressively go after the firearms and keep an eye on the criminal element 24/7 if we don’t this incident on Jerome Avenue and Fox Hill will not be the last. Crime is hurting us, big time who live here - the tourists don’t go over the hill! W THOMPSON Nassau, June 10, 2018.
Disabled parking in Downtown EDITOR, The Tribune. ON June 6, 2018. I ventured downtown to Bay Street to purchase a wedding anniversary gift for my beloved wife of 41 years. I suffered a stroke and underwent open heart surgery two years ago and find it trying to walk long distances in the heat of the day. In attempting to do the correct and lawful thing, I got a letter certifying my condition from my physician and took it down to the Road Traffic Department to get a Disabled Driver sticker for my vehicle. Although the Road Traffic Department generates a huge amount of revenue for the government, or perhaps because of this, the department has long had a reputation for being corrupt and dysfunctional. True to form, the Department had no Disabled Driver stickers and none expected and so they suggested that I have one made. I spent many years as a sign builder and so I went to my old place of business and had a magnetic sticker made so that I could transfer it to my wife’s vehicle if she was driving me somewhere. While being driven downtown, we passed a police constable directing traffic. The uniform worn so proudly by the constables of The Royal Bahamas Police Force is closely modelled on the uniform of The Royal Marines. Seeing this uniform and it being the anniversary of D Day, my mind went to my father. On June 6, 1944, my father was 19 years old serving as a second lieutenant and gunnery officer in The Royal Marines Siege Battalion and stationed on a 150ft gunboat. The gunboat was engaging shore batteries and covering the Allied Landings in Normandy, “D-Day”. When the captain was decapitated by a German fired shell, my father took on command
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net of the vessel. The Royal Marine Museum records that his gunboat was the longest serving gunboat in this invasion, being in continuous action for 22 hours. The action was curtailed when his gunboat was hit by one of the mines that the Germans were floating down towards the Hospital Ships and larger Naval craft. This explosion sunk the boat and my father ended up floating in the sea from which he was rescued, taken back to England and recovered after several months in hospital. He did not talk much about his war experiences but ever after had a dislike for “Bullies in uniform” as he called the brown-shirted Nazi supporters who had been strutting through most of Continental Europe. Bay Street parking was filled as usual with taxi drivers sitting in their empty cabs, the two or three disabled parking spots were taken already until I saw the blue hatching denoting a Disabled Parking place on the South side of Bay close to Parliament Street. My friend who was driving my jeep, parked on these lines, and after making sure that the magnetic sticker was attached to the rear of the vehicle we left to transact my business. Returning about 25 minutes later, we were surprised to find that my vehicle was no longer where it had been left. We approached Police Constable Number 3960 who was polite and helpfully informed us that a khakiwearing inspector had instructed him to have my vehicle towed. This khakiwearing inspector had then left the scene. It seems that I was not supposed to park over the hatched blue lines and my disabled magnetic sticker had mysteriously
disappeared and apparently the sticker was supposed to be inside the vehicle anyway. I could wish that someone of the scores of civil servants working at The Road Traffic Department could have told me this. But perhaps they, like me, did not know. I was told that the only thing I could do was to walk the mile or two down to the Police Road Traffic Division Station in the old Malcom’s Garage building. It was now around midday and I arrived at the station in considerable physical distress, in the Bahamian vernacular, with a “swinging head”. Woman Police Officer Munroe immediately noticed my distress and guided me to a seat and fetched a cool and most welcome glass of water. The Force needs more officers like Officer Munroe and perhaps less strutting Khaki. Officer Munroe then was kind enough to arrange for the return of my vehicle after I had paid the usual exorbitant sum to the usual unsmiling tow truck driver. My wife had to leave her place of work to bring the money required. Over the course of several years, I donated the banners every year requested for the children’s summer camp marching bands held by the police force. While this particular Khaki-clad inspector remains on the muster, The Royal Bahamas Police Force will receive little respect and no further assistance from this citizen. Although most policeman are upright and honest there are also those who are spiteful and corrupt, bullies in uniform, for this reason I request that you withhold my name. DISAPPOINTED Nassau, June 13, 2018.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, June 15, 2018, PAGE 5
Sands may testify in Smith trial By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands may be called to testify in a Magistrate’s Court hearing into former PLP Senator Frank Smith’s bribery and extortion trial, it was revealed yesterday. It was also revealed that lawyers for the accused were just served midday yesterday with two statements from Dr Sands, both of which contain several references to the virtual complainant, Barbara Hanna. Crown attorney Anthony Delaney informed Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt that the prosecution would let the court know today if it plans to call Dr Sands for cross-examination. Nonetheless, Smith’s lead attorney Keith Knight, QC, said he was “extremely unhappy” with the new developments. Following a brief break in yesterday’s proceedings, Mr Knight indicated that while he was “rushing through a sandwich”, fellow defence attorney Philip McKenzie approached him “hurriedly” and showed him two statements. Initially, Mr Knight said he thought those documents were related to what he was about to do in yesterday’s proceedings. However, those turned out to be two statements from Dr Sands, dated June 12 of this year. One of those statements has certain redactions, Mr Knight said, adding that he was advised by Mr
McKenzie that it contains multiple references to Mrs Hanna. Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt subsequently questioned why the Crown was seeking to tender Dr Sands’ evidence at such a late stage in the proceedings. In response, Mr Delaney said he was “surprised” by Mr Knight’s statements, insisting that the defence had asked for Dr Sands’ statements, as well as those of Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle and National Security Minister Marvin Dames during previous proceedings. Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt interjected by stating that not only did she not recall the defence asking for Dr Sands’ evidence, but that she was unaware that the Cabinet minister formed a part of the “factual matrix” of the case until Mr Dames gave his evidence on Wednesday. The Crown maintained that the defence made the requests on May 18, something Mr Knight said he couldn’t recall. However, Mr Knight said in the event he asked for the statements but forgot, he wondered why the Crown could not have provided the defense with the statements at that time. Mr Delaney said the best explanation the Crown could give was that Dr Sands was off the island or out of the jurisdiction, thus affecting their ability to get the statement from the Cabinet minister. “Off the island from the 18th of May?” Mr Knight retorted, adding that he was
FORMER MP Frank Smith at a previous court appearance. “extremely unhappy” about accused’s side’s submisthe issue. sions, Mr Jenkins said that Lead Crown attorney effort likely “failed”. Edward Jenkins, QC, said Smith is facing 15 crimithat the first time he saw Dr nal charges concerning Sands’ statement was yes- his alleged solicitation of terday morning, and after $65,000 in bribes from a seeing it he asked for it to woman he is said to have be served on the Smith’s assisted in getting a conlegal team electronically. tract. He is currently out on However, in view of the $50,000 bail.
It is alleged the former Public Hospitals Authority chairman, between April 2016 and April 2017, demanded and obtained $5,000 per month from Mrs Hanna, knowing he was not lawfully authorised to do so. He is also alleged to have attempted to extort another
$5,000 from Mrs Hanna. Concerning the bribery charge, it is alleged that he solicited $5,000 a month from Mrs Hanna for helping her to get a PHA contract. Smith pleaded not guilty to all the allegations during his arraignment last July. The case continues today.
SHOOTING OF MAN CARRYING SHOTGUN WAS LAWFUL By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE fatal shooting of a 23-year-old mental patient by an assistant commissioner of police and another senior officer two years ago was a lawful killing, jurors decided yesterday. The jury found that Assistant Commissioner of Police Kendal Strachan and Assistant Superintendent Ezra Maycock were justified in the killing of Lorenzo Bain on November 25, 2016. According to reports, Bain, a patient at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre who was on medication, held up a shop owner and stole a loaded shotgun. Bain then took to the street with the weapon a short time later, leading several alarmed motorists and residents to phone police in fear. Speaking to The Tribune at the time, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean said units were called to the area shortly after 10am following reports of a man in black, manoeuvring through traffic on foot, holding a licenced shotgun reported stolen earlier from a convenience store on Zion Boulevard. ACP Dean indicated that officers attempted to approach the suspect, who fired several shots at officers. He said officers gave chase, exchanging shots with the assailant as he headed north on Blue Hill Road. Moments into the exchange, according to police reports, officers
fatally shot the armed man. According to the evidence led during the inquest, Reserve ASP Mackey said he and ASP Maycock were on patrol in the southwest area of New Providence when they received information to proceed to Zion Boulevard. Upon their arrival, he said there appeared to be several firearm explosions. They continued onto Blue Hill Road and in the distance, they saw a man brandishing what appeared to be a shotgun. As they got just about opposite the suspect, he pointed the gun at their vehicle. Reserve ASP Mackey said he ducked for cover but before doing so, he too managed to get one shot from his revolver. On regaining his composure, he got out of the vehicle when he realised ASP Maycock had fallen, and he was afraid, thinking that ASP Maycock had been shot. He said while all of this was going on, the person with the gun was still running and pointing it at passing vehicles. It was at this point he observed ACP Strachan, then a police chief superintendent, on the western side of the street, as well as ASP Maycock, who had since regained his composure, and on the eastern side of the street pursuing the suspect. Brian Williams’ evidence was that while driving on Zion Boulevard, he observed a young
man wearing black short pants and shirt coming from around the pole into the lane he was driving in pointing an object. Mr Williams said he initially thought that object was a stick, but when he got closer he realised it was a shotgun. Being in fear for his life, he then swerved into the southern lane and raced to the East Street South police station and requested assistance. He was then asked to assist the officer, ACP Strachan, in showing him the location he saw the man walking with the shotgun. Mr Williams said he remained in his car when he observed ACP Strachan and others giving chase while the man with the shotgun pointing it. He said he heard ACP Strachan from about 10-15 feet telling the man to “drop the gun, police,” however, Bain didn’t drop it. Bain was ultimately shot by the officers. Firearms examiner Charles Bain, in his testimony, said he received 40 spent 9mm cartridges and wadding from a shotgun following the incident. Mr Bain said investigators did not submit the two 9mm pistols to him for examination, and that the shotgun Bain was wielding was the only firearm he received. However, as he did not receive any shotgun cartridges, he was not able to determine if the wadding he received came from that shotgun. Forensic Pathologist Dr Caryn Sands, in giving her evidence, said the cause of
Bain’s death was gunshot wounds to the torso and extremities. She said it was unlikely
Bain received more than six gunshot wounds, although there may have appeared to be more than six entrances
to the naked eye. She also said there was no evidence the deceased was shot at close range.
PAGE 6, Friday, June 15, 2018
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Woman dies as car crashes into barriers on Munnings Rd By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A WOMAN was killed yesterday morning when her burgundy 2013 Hyundai Elantra collided into road barriers on Munnings Road. Paramedics pronounced her, Garvanisha Anastasia Carey, dead on scene after attempting to revive her. The death prompted fresh criticism from Bahamians about the government’s decision to close the road. Some complained the road is dimly lit in the dark, making the erected barriers difficult to see. Opposition leader Philip “Brave” Davis addressed the matter in the House of Assembly yesterday,
OPPOSITION leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis. expressing condolences to the family of the deceased and calling the matter one “of extreme and constant public interest.” “The road could not be closed because someone says close it,” he said. “There is a protocol for a road to be closed. I asked whether those protocols were engaged to close the road. Big barriers
have been erected. What has heightened the matter is that two accidents have been brought to my attention before this incident that has now resulted in a fatality. I would’ve thought that after the first incident at least police would have taken some notice.” Last night, Works Minister Desmond Bannister addressed the matter in
the House of Assembly, saying the government fully complied with laws before creating the cul-de-sac. “This morning there was a very, very unfortunate incident where somebody lost their life,” he said. “Traffic on Munnings Road has now been rationalised and in the process traffic on Gladstone Road has been less congested. Now residents on the western side of Munnings Road travel west, the airport gateway, instead of merging on to traffic on Gladstone Road, thereby causing further congestion.” The Carmichael MP commended residents of the area for approaching the government with their concerns about the road being used as a throughway. He said police records
DR Duane Sands speaking to the media at yesterday’s protest.
show 283 fixed penalty notices were issued to people accessing the road in 2017. Because of the government’s new action, “out of hand” speeding “has now been curtailed permanently,” he said, adding: “People were turning over cars, they were driving cars up on people’s lawns, families felt endangered, the crime level went up, the bumping went up, it was a nightmare for those communities.” Engineers at his ministry, he said, met twice with members of the Munnings Road community, all of whom voted to return the road to “its original intent” as a cul-de-sac. He noted that speed bumps, once on the road, had been removed.
He said section five of the Roads Act gives the minister of public works certain powers with respect to public roads and that a notice was issued concerning the matter on April 16. The posted speed limit for the area is 25mph, he emphasised. “I’ve seen some very unfortunate accidents along that road and the condition of the vehicles from what the police have told me indicate that those vehicles would have been traveling anywhere in the region of 70 to 80 and 90 mph,” he said. “It is very unfortunate that people have been hurt and someone has lost their life but we have complied fully with the law and we have sought to assist and guide the residents of those communities.”
Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
NHI WILL COST YOU $15-$80 A MONTH from page one
“Therefore, the NHIA will be consulting with key stakeholders, including the private sector, government employees, healthcare providers, union groups and physicians in the coming weeks to get their input before making recommendations to the government about the high-cost care plan. “Together I believe we can drastically reduce the need for medical cookouts. “We anticipate a sliding scale contributory plan covering the most vulnerable – expanding coverage to those who are currently uninsured at a cost that is manageable anticipated $15 to $80 per month. We will be honest with the public about the costs of any such
programme.” He continued: “The $40m for NHI in this year’s budget was paid for from the Consolidated Fund, it was not free, never was free... using tax receipts from the people. We hope to outline a plan, which is administered by the existing well-developed insurance industry, but which will likely sell for about 30 percent to 40 percent of current major medical plans. “Under the revamped NHI plan, the government will now focus its resources on Bahamians who are most in need who cannot currently afford health insurance. The BahamaCare Plan will leverage the existing expertise of the private health insurance industry and healthcare providers in The Bahamas to deliver better services.”
Earlier in his contribution he said: “At the centre of this revamping will be the introduction of BahamaCare Plan to address ‘high cost’ healthcare, or as it is often referred to ‘catastrophic care.’ Cookouts have become commonplace in our communities. They all too often fall short in raising what’s required to pay for care. While cookouts are an integral part of the social fabric and culture of The Bahamas, cookouts for this purpose need to end, and this year though NHI we will take the first steps in achieving this objective.” Regarding the upgrades to the hospital, Dr Sands said A&E will acquire an additional 30 percent working space. “This will include new bathrooms, improved examination spaces to increase privacy and clinical management, a redesigned entrance, patient advocate offices, and much needed isolation facilities. “Other support services that will be upgraded are Orthopaedic and Wound Care Clinics, along with a revamped registration area. Services will continue during the renovations to ensure the public has access to life-saving care always. It is estimated that this will cost $5.6m inclusive of enabling works to the current unused space and renovated building infrastructure,” Dr Sands said.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, June 15, 2018, PAGE 7
Grand Bahama ‘the gun capital of The Bahamas’ By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama, in addition to be being the industrial capital, is being called “the gun capital” of The Bahamas in terms of firearm violence and shootings in the country, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands revealed in the House of Assembly yesterday. Dr Sands reported that the island has a shooting ratio of 94 per capita, surpassing that of New Providence, and even the United States of America. Between 2016/2017, there were 49 gunshot wounds. It represents a 44 percent increase over the 35 gun shot wounds that were tended to in 2015-2016. There were only 12 in 20142015 and 27 in 2013-2014. This, he said, represented a significant increase by as much as 300 percent in the number of patients presented at the Rand
Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds when compared to previous years. While delivering his contribution to the budget debate, the Elizabeth MP indicated that gun violence and stabbings continue to be “unacceptably high” in the country. Per capita, the second city outpaced the capital. In New Providence, Dr Sands said officials saw a reduction in the number of gunshot wound patients who came into Princess Margaret Hospital in 2016/2017. Officials recorded 181 that year, a nearly 14 per cent decrease compared to 20152016’s 201 gunshot wound patients. In the previous year, 2014/2015 doctors at PMH saw 243. There were even more stab wound patients – 226 seen last year and 197 the year before. Overall, there were 53,757 cases seen in accident and emergency. At the Rand, Dr Sands said they saw 36,331
patients, which included 130 assaults, 29 stab wounds, and 49 gunshot wounds. He said: “Compared to 2015-2016, that was an increase of 63 percent when we had 32, and a whopping 300 percent increase from the year before,” he said. “Notwithstanding the overall net reduction year over year, gun violence and stabbings remain unacceptably high. “We like to say that our neighbour to the north (the USA) is the gun capital of the world, but in 2013, they recorded 73,000 non-fatal gunshot wounds; they have a population of 225 million - they had 11,208 gun homicides, 21,000 gun-related suicides, with the average shooting rate of 26.1 per 100,000,” he reported. He indicated that in New Providence, the gunshot wound rate is 66 per 100,000. “In Pineridge, East Grand Bahama, Marco City, Central Grand Bahama, West
Grand Bahama and Bimini, I regret to inform you with a population of 52,000, Grand Bahama has become the gun capital of The Bahamas with shooting rate of 94 per 100,000,” he said. “Let me commend my colleague from Mt Moriah, our data supports the data of the police that gun violence is trending down, but it remains unacceptably high,” he said. Notwithstanding the efforts of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, Dr Sands stressed that all Bahamians have a role to play in reduction of crime. He said his ministry will sponsor several studies looking at the role of mental and psychological challenges, as well as the impact of nutrition, specifically micro-nutrient deficiencies, the impact of sugar, fat, preservatives, chemicals, steroids and antibiotics in the diet on the question of violence.
MINISTER of Health Dr Duane Sands.
GOVERNMENT SIGNS DEAL TO BORROW $70M FROM IDB By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE government signed agreements for two investment loans worth $70m with the Inter-American Development Bank yesterday. The loans will fund an airport infrastructure programme in the Family Islands and a climate resilient coastal infrastructure and management programme, both of which were approved by Parliament earlier this year. The airport
infrastructure programme is designed to enhance airports in North Eleuthera, Exuma, Treasure Cay and Marsh Harbour, Abaco, bringing them in compliance with aviation standards globally. The climate resilience programme will “use science-based shoreline stabilisation and coastal flooding control measures on the island of Grand Bahama, Long Island and New Providence, as well as restoration of coastal natural habitats, such as mangroves and coral reefs in Andros,” according to
the IDB. It was announced yesterday that the government will also receive a $500,000 grant from the IDB for a study about economic diversification in The Bahamas. The analysis will concentrate on digital technology, “blue economy” products like sustainable fisheries and boutique agribusiness products like bananas, papayas, limes and mangoes. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said at yesterday’s press conference:
“This event confirms the government’s commitment to channel investment towards Family Island communities, as over the next five to six years, the country will witness the construction or rehabilitation to several Family Island airports and runways. “These assets are regarded as vital points of connection to the wider Bahamas and the entire world. Hence, planned upgrades are critical to enhancing the economic prospects of the islands. In addition to upgrading airport infrastructure, civil works will
also be undertaken on selected islands, to fortify traditional and re-introduce natural sea defence, so as to mitigate the negative impact of natural disasters to coastal areas. This work is important for the environment sustainability of The Bahamas. “As you may be aware, the IDB is a development institution and as a result, member countries accessing funds from the ordinary capital window of the institution are not subject to commercial financial terms. Hence, the tenor on these loans are 25
years at a variable interest rate, which is inclusive of LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) and currently stands at 3.25 percent. While this is the interest rate of choice, the Ministry of Finance, in consideration of future market conditions, has the option of converting to a fixed interest rate, if necessary. Comparatively, these terms are more favourable than accessing funds from the international private sector markets, where the interest rates are recorded at 5.84 percent with a ten-year tenor.”
He Grabbed Life……….. Although fundamentally a gentleman, and profoundly a gentle man, my father had a certain rough edge. Undoubtedly, this was acquired during the tough, hungry days of his early childhood, and youth. However, neither the more comfortable years of his adulthood, nor the gentle prodding of our mother ever completely erased it. He carried that rough edge to his grave. This rough edge was often manifested in his speech. For example, when he asked us to help with a repair around the house, and he needed a particular tool, he would say “Grab the hammer…….” or “ Grab the drill….” Likewise, when he was teaching us to make a dish, he would instruct us to” Grab some flour’, or “Grab some grits.” He was not the kind of man who took the hammer or drill, or got some flour or grits – instead he grabbed them. Although I found this “grab” expression (and so many others) different, and amusing as I was growing up, much later in life, I came to appreciate how symbolic this expression was of how he approached and lived his life. It was not until much later that I realized what an important lesson he taught us by using this expression in our childhood and youth - he taught us to grab what we wanted out of life, as he did. Many things can be said, and have been said, about my father, but this was a deep and fundamental trait of his – He grabbed life…… One day, as a little boy of seven, Dad ran into his father (who had abandoned him) and asked him for some money because he was hungry, and wanted to purchase a meal. In response, his father, who was quite wealthy, threw a few coins at him. Being proud, even as a little boy, my father picked the coins up, threw them back at his father, and ran off. He found another way to feed himself, either by selling peanuts or newspapers on the side of the road, or by doing odd jobs. This only occurred because He grabbed life…… Later, when he wanted to go to high school, but could not afford to do so, he wrote his wayward father (who, by that time, had returned to Greece) soliciting some financial assistance. His father never bothered to respond, so Dad dropped out of school, went to work as a jockey, and continued his education by attending night school. He later apprenticed at an electrical company, and became an electrician. He continued to study, and acquire new skills, which allowed him to eventually become the Chief Engineer, and then The Director of Engineering at several of the leading hotels on the island. Never abandoning his dream of attending college, he finally was able to do so relatively late in life, earning his Bachelor’s Degree ( with Honours) at the age of fifty. Throughout his life,
Dad took every opportunity presented him for selfimprovement, and advancement. He was determined to succeed and to chart his own course, which he did until the day he died. This only occurred because He grabbed life…….. When as a teen-ager, Dad met my mother, and expressed an interest in her, he was told (by the person who introduced them) that she was way out of his league. He pursued her, anyway. In fact, he persisted relentlessly, despite her many rejections, and objections. He knew who he wanted, and was prepared to do whatever it took to win her over (he even found Jesus, and started going to church, as she demanded). Eventually, he won her heart and her hand in marriage. He loved her profoundly, and protected her fiercely. When they started having children, and she went into labour but could not afford a doctor, Dad delivered his children, himself. They eventually had nine children, and raised them together, always emphasizing spiritual development, and education; and always providing an opportunity for their children to succeed. They built a life together, and spent 58 years together, until the day he died. This only occurred because He grabbed life…….. As a young man of 20, Dad wanted to buy a piece of property, and build a house for his enlarging family. Unfortunately, he had no money with which to do so. After being turned down by the bank, he approached one of the brothers who owned the company that he worked for, and asked him for a loan. He also refused to lend Dad the money. Undeterred, Dad approached the other brother, who impressed by Dad’s persistence, agreed to lend him the money. Dad then worked endless hours to re-pay the loan long before it was due. He bought the property and built the house with his own hands. This only occurred because He grabbed life……. When as an older man, infirmary set in, and eventually took over, and rendered Dad unable to even walk, he rode around in his motorized wheelchair, and still lived life to its fullest. No matter what obstacles were placed in his way, Dad found a way to overcome them. No matter what misfortune life threw at him, armed with his deep faith, and assisted by his ever faithful wife, he seemed to persevere, and to thrive. Throughout his life, despite tremendous responsibilities of his own, he remained always willing to help those less fortunate than himself. This only occurred because He grabbed life……. And when the doctor’s pronounced him dead, and he went Home to meet his maker, and we buried his remains, Dad’s spirit refused to die, or to be forgotten. His presence is still felt, and his legacy remains. Most
of all, he continues to teach by the great example of resiliency and tenacity that he demonstrated throughout his life. This only occurred because He grabbed life……. Dad, thank you so much for this valuable lesson (and so many others) that you taught us by your amazing example. We continue to miss you and love you! We always will! Cliff Galanis, MD June 6, 2018 On the occasion of his sixth death anniversary.
PAGE 8, Friday, June 15, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
INIGO ‘Naughty’ Zenicazelaya at the protest march yesterday alongside Rodney Moncur.
You have to laugh or else you’ll cry DESPITE the naysayers, and detractors, the march against VAT was well attended all things considered. Numerous activists, organisations, web shop workers and concerned Bahamian citizens, took to Rawson Square, to protest the governments decision to increase VAT to 12 percent from 7.5 percent and several components of “The People’s Budget”. As I stood downtown taking in the atmosphere, I was glad to see Bahamians are still willing to
stand up and speak out against what they consider unjust. At the end of the day, with a minuscule opposition, the citizenry must hold this administration accountable, or lose out in the process.
WATER BOY AND THE SPRINTER AS in all things political, humour is always lurking right around the corner. Yesterday’s march was no different. From talk show host and organiser Adrian Francis, old school Clyde “the Glide” Drexler original, sweat suit. To leader of the “women dem” Rodney Moncur, in
FRANKIE CAMPBELL MP, who twice spoke to protestors yesterday - only to have water thrown at him in return. Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff Comedy relief was in full full chef’s attire, serving everything but “corn beef”. effect.
As if it couldn’t get better comedically, it did. Right before my very eyes even. Minister of Transportation and Golden Isles MP Frankie Campbell, in all his bravado and crisp blue suit, decided to address the rabid crowd outside of the House of Assembly, not once but twice, and on each occasion, got doused with cold water. (At least onlookers said it was water). I guess they wet Frankie once apiece, for each of his infamous passports. As I watched, Campbell’s water level rise, I said to myself, you can’t top that. However, Minister of National Security and Mt Moriah MP Marvin Dames, had other ideas, he stole the show (pun intended), Apparently, upon exiting the HOA, Dames, bounced out and was met with harsh criticism from the crowd of supporters gathered outside, as he tried to walk off briskly, the crowd followed behind him step for step. At this point, faster than he changed his position on the “Spy Bill”, Dames switched gears from a brisk walk, to a trot, to break off running, displaying break away speed, even Usain Bolt would envy. It’s clear after this display, and a few others, while testifying in the Frank Smith trial, that Dames is heading up the wrong ministry. Dames may not have the speed to cripple crime in the country, but with the speed he displayed running away (how ironic the Minister of National Security running away). Dames needs to be Minister of Youth Sports and Culture, with all that speed. Track and field in The Bahamas needs you, Mr Dames, National Security not so much!
CORRECTION IN yesterday’s Obituaries section, the incorrect number was printed for an educational fund to helpl the children of Tami Patrice Wilson-Gibson’s children. The correct account number is 201706088 at First Caribbean Bank and not the account number printed yesterday.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, June 15, 2018, PAGE 9
Judge delays his URCA case ruling By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A SUPREME Court judge has reserved his decision on whether the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority was right to find that ZSR Sports Radio’s operator is not the true holder of the 103.5 FM radio licence. The Tribune understands that Justice Ian Winder is expected to give a ruling at a later date on whether URCA’s 2017 ruling that ownership of the 103.5 licence instead lies with ZSR’s two founders can be sustained. Last month, the Court of Appeal dismissed Navette Broadcasting’s appeal of URCA’s decision, but only after it was informed that Sports Radio’s operator, Navette Broadcasting, via a notice of discontinuance filed on April 17, withdrew its own appeal against the regulator’s decision. On June 15, 2017, URCA found Olympic triple-jump medalist Frank Rutherford and late sports broadcaster Phil Smith, the two of whom established ZSR Sports Radio, were the true holders of the 103.5 FM licence. URCA further found that Navette Broadcasting only operated ZSR Sports Radio on Messrs Rutherford and Smith’s behalf, with the two men being the actual licensees. Navette countered by claiming URCA ignored the fact the licence could not have existed without it following passage of the 2009 Communications Act, which required all broadcast licences to be held by incorporated companies. ZSR’s licence, issued pre-2009, was in the names of Messrs Rutherford and Smith and thus non-compliant with the new Act. Navette sought to appeal URCA’s decision, but the attempts were rejected by both the Utilities Appeal Tribunal (UAT) and the Supreme Court. Both judicial forums declined to hear the matter on jurisdictional grounds. The Supreme Court ruled the matter should be heard first by the UAT, but the UAT decided it must go to arbitration. The “arbitration” remark is understood to refer to
a clause in the contract between Navette and Messrs Rutherford and Smith about how disputes should be resolved. Navette then sought relief from the Court of Appeal on the issue, and was only waiting for a date from the Court of Appeal to have its matter heard. Navette’s battle with URCA stems from the former’s opposition of Island Luck chief Sebas Bastian’s radio joint venture, Paramount System’s majority takeover of ZSR Sport’s Radio’s FM licence. Mr Bastian’s majorityowned Paramount Systems joint venture was supposed to use the 103.5 FM frequency formerly employed by ZSR Sports Radio. Mr Rutherford and Mr Smith’s widow are Mr Bastian’s minority partners in Paramount Systems, but they - and the 103.5 FM frequency - subsequently became embroiled in the legal challenge mounted by Navette Broadcasting. Navette Broadcasting had opposed the station’s majority takeover by Mr Bastian on the basis they are the true holders of the 103.5 licence. Due to Navette’s resistance to the “takeover,” and it previously continuing to use the 103.5 frequency despite URCA’s October 26, 2017, warning for Navette to “cease and desist its unlawful activity,” Paramount Systems was broadcasting on 105.3 FM as it waited for the regulatory dispute to come to an end. In April however, URCA confirmed it had advised Paramount Systems it could start using ZSR’s 103.5 FM frequency. That ultimately resulted in a police-enforced shutdown of Navette’s operation and seizure of ZSR’s broadcasting equipment, computers and other relevant equipment. URCA later confirmed that with the assistance of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, it had “successfully executed a search and seizure warrant at the transmitter site.” URCA added its actions were designed to stop Navette’s operation of a radio station without a licence and accused the company of ignoring its October 26, 2017 “cease and desist” warning.
‘The Bahamas’ own street philosopher’
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PAGE 10, Friday, June 15, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Govt to consider CARICOM findings on medical marijuana By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE Minnis administration will consider changes to policy on medicinal marijuana following the completion of a report from a CARICOM task force on the herbal drug, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands told Parliament yesterday. This report, he said, is expected to be released next month. Earlier this year, public discourse on the use of marijuana for medical purposes was again ignited after a CARICOM Regional Commission town hall meeting saw scores of Bahamians turn out to voice opinions about its legalisation. At the time, Dr Marvin Smith, PHA deputy director and chief pharmacist at the Princess Margaret Hospital, urged government
and local health officials to set the standard for medical marijuana research in the region. “Against the backdrop of the recent legalisation of recreational marijuana use in Canada and the disconnect between the states and the federal government of the USA, there is tremendous discussion about the possible role of medical marijuana, the economic viability of marijuana farming and processing,” Dr Sands said yesterday during his budget communication. “Many are deeply passionate about this subject and have expressed a view that we have lagged behind the rest of the region and the world in modifying our approach and we hear those people. “The World Health Organisation in November 2017 published a statement that CBD (Cannabidiol),
one of the components different than THC, is neither harmful nor addictive.” He continued: “The Bahamas has agreed to be guided by the CARICOM task force . . .which is scheduled to give a report in July 2018. “Subsequently, the Cabinet of The Bahamas will, as committed by the prime minister and member for Killarney, consider any implications for changes in national policy. “But at this time, there are no adjustments to our laws or policy on marijuana and my ministry will have no recommendation until that time. Certainly, given our unique challenges with violence, careful sovereign consideration and public consideration of the matter is necessary because what works elsewhere may or may not work in The Bahamas.”
JOHN Baily pictured reading the Riot Act on Black Tuesday, 1965.
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MAGISTRATE WHO ORDERED PINDING’S ARREST DIES JOHN Baily, a former magistrate who famously ordered the arrest of Sir Lynden Pindling, then leader of the Opposition, died in an Irish hospital
on May 9. Mr Baily, of Donnybrook, Dublin, served on the bench in The Bahamas for nine years. He is known for reading the Riot Act to a demonstrating crowd on Bay Street, on April 27, 1965, known as Black Tuesday. In 2011, he sat down with The Tribune to reflect on his time in The Bahamas. “Oh God, yes!” Mr Baily recalled in 2011, as the memories of Black Tuesday rushed back to him. “I read the Riot Act! Wasn’t that the day Pindling threw the mace out of the window?” On that day, a speech by Sir Lynden, then leader of the opposition, in the House of Assembly accusing the United Bahamian Party of gerrymandering ended with the Speaker’s mace being snatched from his dais and thrown from the House of Assembly’s window. Baily, one of only three magistrates at the time, was visited in his chambers by a police officer who asked him to read the Riot Act to quell a noisy crowd that had gathered in the public square to hear Sir Lynden’s speech. Baily mounted a police car and read the Riot Act, which gave the police the right to use lethal force, if necessary, an hour after it was read. However, lethal force was not necessary and the crowd dispersed quietly and calmly. In 2011, he said he did not regret reading the Act, but admitted it made him unpopular. He recalled at the time: “I always made the point: how come I was the only person left to read the Riot Act when there were two more magistrates? Where were they?” Though he later counted Sir Lynden as a friend, Bailey is also remembered for holding the country’s first prime minister in contempt of court. In September 1964, Baily was sent to Freeport to hear a case against a taxi driver. Authorities in Freeport felt that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement made Freeport private property
and permitted them the ability to ask anyone to leave their property. “He (the taxi driver) kept on misbehaving and they barred him from Freeport,” Bailey told this newspaper in 2011. “His point was that you can’t bar me from my streets, from my church, from my children going to school, from my grocery store. “The authorities persisted and he was eventually charged because he kept coming back.” Mr Pindling, then leader of the Opposition, had also travelled to Freeport to support the taxi driver. When the case started, a police officer told Bailey a group was picketing outside the court. “I said that it’s a public court and they are welcome to come into court but they should not picket the court,” Mr Baily told this newspaper. “So he went out there and told them, he came back and said that they refused to leave.” Baily told the officer to put the group in contempt, but said he did not know Lynden Pindling was among them. It was not until after lunch he realised the leader of the opposition was one of the men sitting in a cell at the police station. “I phoned down to the attorney general in Nassau and I said I just arrested a group of men and I think Lynden Pindling is one of them. He said, ‘Oh my God! Look, just give them a warning and tell them they are free to go.’” The magistrate was later successfully sued on the grounds that the men should not have been arrested. He said years later he was friendly with Sir Lynden and would call on him after he left the Bahamas. Baily, a member of the Irish Bar, came to Nassau as a 31-year-old on August 12, 1962 to take up his new appointment as a stipendiary and circuit magistrate. He left the bench in the Bahamas on August 12, 1971.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, June 15, 2018, PAGE 11
AN AERIAL view of protestors on Bay Street yesterday.
Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
HUNDREDS JOIN BAY STREET MARCH
LEADER of the opposition Philip ‘Brave’ Davis greets protestors.
PROTESTORS on Bay Street yesterday.
PAGE 12, Friday, June 15, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
SESSIONS CITES BIBLE TO DEFEND SEPARATING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES WASHINGTON Associated Press
ATTORNEY General Jeff Sessions cited the Bible yesterday in his defence of his border policy that is resulting in hundreds of immigrant children being separated from their parents after they enter the US illegally.
Sessions, speaking in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on immigration, pushed back against criticism he had received over the policy. On Wednesday, a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church said that separating mothers from their babies was “immoral”. Sessions said many of the recent criticisms were not
“fair or logical and some are contrary to law”. “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order,” he said. “Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves and protect the weak
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and lawful.” Last month, the attorney general announced a “zero tolerance” policy that any adult who enters the country illegally is criminally prosecuted. US protocol prohibits detaining children with their parents because the children are not charged with a crime and the parents are. According to US Customs and Border Protection, more than 650 children were separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border during a two-week period in May. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that she hadn’t seen Sessions’ comments but affirmed that the Bible did back up the administration’s actions. “I can say that it is very biblical to enforce the law. That is actually repeated a number of times throughout the Bible,” she said. “It’s a moral policy to follow and enforce the law.” In an unusually tense series of exchanges in the White House briefing room, Sanders wrongly blamed Democrats for the policy separating children from parents and insisted the administration had made no changes in increasing the use. Until the policy was announced in April, such families were usually referred for civil deportation proceedings, not requiring separation. “The separation of illegal alien families is the product of the same legal loopholes that Democrats refuse to close, and these laws are the same that have been on the books for over a decade, and the president is simply enforcing them,” she said. “We don’t want this to be a problem,” she said. Cardinal Daniel
UNITED States Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks about immigration at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana, yesterday. Sessions cited the Bible in his defence of his border policy that is resulting in hundreds of children being separated from their parents. Photo: Mike Moore/The Journal-Gazette via AP DiNardo, the archbishop of Galveston-Houston, told the US Conference of Catholic Bishops on Wednesday that he was joining other religious leaders in opposing the government’s border policy.
“Our government has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma,” DiNardo said in a statement.
WATCHDOG: COMEY ‘INSUBORDINATE’ BUT NOT BIASED IN CLINTON PROBE WASHINGTON Associated Press
MACKEY STREET TOP OF THE HILL
BETTER PIZZA BEING SERVED JUNE 28TH
IN a stinging rebuke, the Justice Department watchdog declared yesterday that former FBI Director James Comey was “insubordinate” in his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation in the explosive final months of the 2016 presidential campaign. But it also found there was no evidence that Comey’s or the department’s final conclusions were motivated by political bias toward either candidate.
President Donald Trump had looked to the much-anticipated report to provide a fresh line of attack against Comey and the FBI as Trump claims that a politically tainted bureau tried to undermine his campaign and, through the later Russia investigation, his presidency. He is likely to use the harsh assessment of Comey as validation for his decision to fire him, an act now central to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the president sought to obstruct justice. Clinton and her supporters, on the other hand, have long complained that she was the one whose election chances were torpedoed by Comey’s investigation announcements about her email practices, in the summer and then shortly before the election. Yet the report’s nuanced findings — that the FBI repeatedly erred, though not for politically improper reasons — complicated efforts by Republicans and Democrats alike to claim total vindication. The conclusions were contained in a 500-page report that documents in painstaking detail one of the most consequential investigations in modern FBI history and reveals how the bureau, which for decades has endeavored to stand apart from politics, came to be entangled in the 2016 presidential election. The report also underscores efforts by senior FBI and Justice Department leaders in the final stages of the presidential race to juggle developments in the Clinton investigation - she had used private email for government business while secretary of state - with a separate probe into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Russia investigation, though diverting bureau resources and attention away from the final stages of the Clinton probe, was unknown at the time to the American public. Comey, whom Trump fired
shortly after taking office, bore the brunt of the report’s criticism. It says the FBI director, who announced in July 2016 that Clinton had been “extremely careless” with classified material but would not be charged with any crime, repeatedly departed from normal Justice Department protocol. Yet it does not second-guess his conclusion that Clinton should not have been prosecuted — despite assertions by Trump and his supporters that anyone less politically connected would have been charged. It also disputed the Trump talking point that the FBI favored Clinton over him, saying, “We found no evidence that the conclusions by the prosecutors were affected by bias or other improper considerations; rather, we determined that they were based on the prosecutors’ assessment of the facts, the law and past department practice.” Still, Trump supporters quickly focused on the report’s recounting of anti-Trump text messages from two FBI officials who worked the Clinton probe and later the Russia case, including one in which an agent says, “We’ll stop it” with regard to a possible Trump victory. The report suggests that text from Peter Strzok, who was later dropped from Mueller’s team, “implies a willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate’s electoral prospects”. It did not find evidence that those views seeped into the investigation. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the report “reaffirmed the president’s suspicions about Comey’s conduct and the political bias amongst some of the members of the FBI”. FBI Director Chris Wray told reporters the FBI accepted the report’s findings and was making changes, including requiring further training for employees and reemphasising the importance of objectivity.